In a study recently published in Science Advances, researchers show that students are heavily influence by their peers’ interest in STEM as well. “We were surprised by the consistency and magnitude of the results,” said Allison Godwin, an assistant professor of engineering education at Purdue University who worked on the study. “Our findings indicate that experiencing even one science course in which students perceive a quorum of interest among their peers can have a large and significant effect on their career choices.” Using data from a national survey study of students‘ experiences in high school science, we compared the effect of five levels of peer interest reported in biology, chemistry, and physics courses on students‘ STEM career intentions. The results support our hypothesis, showing a strong, positive effect of an interest quorum even after controlling for differences between students that pose competing hypotheses such as previous STEM career interest, academic achievement, family support for mathematics and science, and gender. Smaller positive effects of interest quorums were observed for course performance in some cases, with no detrimental effects observed across the study. Last, significant effects persisted even after controlling for differences in teaching quality. This work emphasizes the likely importance of interest quorums for creating classroom environments that increase students’ intentions toward STEM careers while enhancing or maintaining course performance.

Check out the full article in Science Advances: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/8/e1700046